Diet Book Reviews

The Ann Arbor District Library is really good about having the latest and greatest on the shelves.  I paged through both of these books today.  The general idea of both these books is to have a set number of calories per meal - about 400 per meal. 

Pro:  Both books have lots of beautiful pictures and informative tid bits and fun facts, very engaging.  And it works well with Weight Watcher's too because of all the nutrition information, making the points calculations very easy.

Con's:  While I wouldn't mind owning either of these books, I have 2 smallish objections that are a bit personal, but not deal breakers.

1.  Both books use a lot of "lite" products - light cheese, low calorie products, reduced this and that.  While I will admit to having gained a few pounds (16 cough cough) over the last year, I still like the French concept of eating a small portion of good food, instead of filling up on reduced fat foods. 

2.  My second objection is that both books have recipes that use way more than 5 ingredients each.  These are not the type of books that can be picked up 30 minutes before a meal and expect to have all the ingredients on hand.  Careful planning would be the watch word here.

One of the books even showed how to divide your plate into quarters to cover the 4 food groups - which is no longer the recommendation by the Agriculture Department.  I have not embraced the newer Pyramid recommendation and still do my menu planning using the older food group concept.

I think both of these books are on the right track - focusing on lean protein, fruits, vegies, and quality carbs.  The idea of working around a set number of calories per meal - 400 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is easy for my mind to work around.  I have access to these books, plus many others, through my local library so I don't buy as many books as I used to but I would recommend either one if you are in the market for a new twist on diet book. 

Astrid